Just Like Marilyn
by Faulty Cameras
Summary: When people make mistakes, they usually get yelled at. When Kaitlin makes mistakes, she gets moved across the country. New house. New school. Same old Kaitlin. Crossover with Gossip Girl. Oneshot written for the Fireplace Crossover Challenge.


Disclaimer: I don't own The O.C. or Gossip Girl.

A/N-This was written for the Fireplace Crossover Challenge. I used the Gossip Girl book series instead of the TV show and it takes place in between the books _All I Want is Everything_ and _Because I'm Worth It_. Special thanks to Meg for taking the time to edit this!!

* * *

_If I'd observed all the rules, I'd never have got anywhere.  
-Marilyn Monroe_

Kaitlin Cooper wanted a lot of things in her life. She wanted to no longer have a year old brother. She wanted her mom to divorce Frank Atwood, because even though he was Ryan's dad, she still preferred Bullit. She wanted her sister to still be alive, because even though it had been nearly two years, it was hard to think that she was no longer in her sister's shadow.

But most of all, she wanted to be back in California. She didn't want to live in New York City just because of one little stupid incident.

She pushed the sunglasses off of her eyes, looking around the airport. Her dad was supposed to meet her but she knew he wasn't the most reliable person, so she would be surprised if he actually appeared.

She was just about to go up to the counter and buy a ticket to go back home when she heard someone out to her.

"Hey kiddo!"

She turned and saw none other than Jimmy Cooper walking towards her, his arms already held out to wrap her in a hug. She let him hug her, though it was a bit awkward. She hadn't seen her father since Marissa's funeral, and before it had been a while since she had seen him.

"We're so glad that you decided to come stay with us," he said, steering her to get her bags.

She ignored the 'we' statement for the time being. "I didn't decide to come stay with you. Mom thought it would be a nice change of pace."

Jimmy frowned at his daughter. "Well, however you came to be here, we're glad that you came."

"Whose we?"

She found out at that moment who exactly 'we' was. She was now face to face with a woman who looked like she was about Summer and Taylor's age, maybe a few years older.

"Kaitlin, this is my fiancé Becca."

Kaitlin studied her for a minute, not making any remark. Instead, she just grabbed her bag, walking away from them both.

"Our cab is right there," Jimmy pointed it out to her. He paused as he watched her wordlessly get into the cab, running his hands through his hair. She had been there for less than five minutes and it was already stressful.

He and Becca climbed in the cab after her, giving the address of their home in the Upper East Side. Kaitlin was staring out the window, obviously not wanting to talk to her father.

"You'll be going to the Constance Billard School for Girls," Jimmy offered, trying to make a conversation of some sort.

"Constance Billard School for Girls?" Kaitlin whipped her head around. This was just freakin great. She gets sent across the country and doesn't even get to be at a school with guys.

"Yes, my cousin, Blair Waldorf goes there," Becca spoke up. "She's a lot like you."

Kaitlin narrowed her eyes at Becca. She wasn't sure how this woman could even know what she was like, considering they had just met only several minutes before.

"It's a great school, Kaitlin," Jimmy said. "You'll do great there. Academically wise, it's a lot like Harbor, so you'll do great there."

She wasn't about to bring up the fact that she had just barely passed her junior year of high school. Sure, she had improved some, especially since Bullit had told her he wouldn't help pay for college (since there was no way her mom would be able to help her out, with Frank barely making enough money for them to eat regularly) unless her grades improved.

"It'll be great there," Becca added. "You can hang out with Blair and her friend Serena…"

"You don't have to help me make friends," Kaitlin said, not bothering to keep the hostility out of her voice. "I'm capable of doing that on my own."

"Kaitlin…things are different than in California."

She rolled her eyes at her father. "Dad, things can't be different."

"People are different here. They're not like the people that you used to hang out with."

"What do you mean they don't get caught smoking pot with their friends while babysitting their baby brother? Gee, I thought that happened everywhere."

She turned back to looking out the window, watching the people on the streets pass by. So far, she hated New York just as much as she thought she was going to.

* * *

Kaitlin threw her suitcase down on the floor, not bothering to unpack it. Unpacking it would make this all to real.

Jimmy stood in the doorway. "Uh, Becca and I are going out to eat. Do you want to come?"

"Not hungry," she replied, sitting down on the bed in the overly pink room.

It was quite obvious that Becca decorated this room. It was pink and frilly, the exact opposite of what Kaitlin would have picked. She couldn't wait to pull her posters out and cover up the walls.

In the cab ride she had learned that the two meet when Jimmy moved to New York after Marissa's death, making a lifestyle change. Becca had been visiting her aunt and cousins and when she met Jimmy, she decided to permanently move there as they 'just clicked'.

"Are you sure?" Becca questioned, standing next to Jimmy in the doorway.

"Uh, yea. Have a good time."

Jimmy walked to his daughter, kissing her forehead. "We won't be overly long. Make yourself at home."

Home. This place wouldn't ever be her home. The only place she would ever call home was their original house in Newport, the one she grew up in. Not the one where she lived with Frank and her mom and her baby brother. That place and this place would never be home.

She waited until she heard the apartment door close, then dug into her bag. She found exactly what she was looking for, what she had been waiting to have since she had been caught smoking two weeks ago.

So maybe it hadn't been the best idea in the world to smoke pot while babysitting Nicky. Okay, it definitely hadn't been her finest moment. And really, she thought her mom had overreacted. Sure, this was the third time she had been caught, but really she didn't think that it mattered much. After all, her night had been ruined when Nicky's babysitter had cancelled on them. It wasn't like she wanted or liked watching the kid.

And really, she had no clue that they were going to come home early and find her, Brad, and Eric smoking on the back patio. They weren't due home for at least two hours.

She couldn't take back what had happened though. She was going to have to make the most of this whole situation.

* * *

Kaitlin shrugged her jacket over her uniform, trying to suppress her groans about the fact that she was wearing a uniform.

"You look great in that," Becca commented.

She didn't respond, instead picking up her bag off the ground. She started to head out the door when Jimmy called her back.

"If you want, Becca can call Blair up and ask her to meet you at the school. She can show you around and help you out."

"No thanks Dad, I don't need a babysitter."

"All right. See you later."

She walked out of the apartment without another word. For a minute, she contemplated ditching school, but decided she'd go for her first day before deciding if it was worth going back.

She walked through the crowded streets, opting not to take a cab. She had left the house early enough, due to wanting to get out of there before Becca and her dad drove her nuts.

She arrived at the school just as the first bell was ringing. She looked at the amount of girls, their uniforms decorated with all of the latest fashion. With the exception of a girl she spotted with a shaved head, they all looked like they stepped out of a fashion magazine promoting prep uniform clothes.

She definitely wasn't in California anymore.

* * *

She was no enemy of whispering throughout the halls. She was actually quite used to it. She had gotten it all the time back at her boarding school and at Harbor.

She didn't mind it at all. She actually welcomed all the attention. What she didn't welcome so much was that they would constantly look at their cell phones before they started the whispering and glances in her direction. She hadn't even been there for a half day, yet already the whispers were coming from everywhere. She hadn't even done anything that she thought was worthy of being whispered about.

She finally needed to know exactly what everyone was whispering about and her eyes rested on a short girl, with curly brown hair, and brown eyes. She had her arms crossed over her large chest as she walked through the hall, as if she was trying to make it seem like it didn't exist.

"Hey," Kaitlin called out. "What are you all looking at?"

The girl looked around, trying to figure out if she was the one being addressed. "Me?"

"Yea, you."

The girl held out her phone, eager to comply. "It's Gossip Girl."

"Gossip Girl?" Kaitlin had to read this.

She scrolled through the message, skimming through mentions of people called by their initials. She didn't particularly care about B, S, D, V, or N. They weren't her reason for taking the girls phone.

"You're Kaitlin aren't you? Isn't your dad engaged to Blair's cousin? That's so cool! I'm Jenny by the way."

"Right." She wasn't listening to the girl as she finally found what she was looking for.

_Someone new has fallen under the radar. It looks like __**K**__ is the latest addition to the New York scene. Let's see if she lives up to all of her California hype, there's been some pretty interesting stories about her life back on the West Coast._

Kaitlin couldn't believe that someone would already know of her life back home. This was the most ridiculous place she had ever been in.

"Thanks…" she trailed off, not remembering the girl's name.

"Jenny."

"Thanks Jenny."

She walked away before Jenny could say anything more to her. She headed to her next class, trying to place the last time she had been to a class on time. It had been quite a while ago.

She walked into the classroom, watching all the girls chatting. She heard her name mentioned more than once and a lot of speculation about what her previous life had been. In the three minutes that she sat there, she heard the words 'killed a man' more times than she had ever before.

"Are you Kaitlin Cooper?" a girl with long chestnut brown hair and blue eyes stood in front of her.

"Yea, that's me."

"I'm Blair Waldorf," she held out her hand, "Becca's cousin. She called and told me that you were coming here to school. She wanted me to help you out."

Kaitlin narrowed her eyes at the girl. She could see right through the fake cheery smile. This girl wanted nothing to do with her.

"Thanks, but I'm good."

Blair stared at her. She had been thinking this was another time she could do some community service. From the things that Becca had told her this girl was doing in California, she definitely figured this qualified. "Really?"

"Uh, yes."

Blair tossed her hair over her shoulders. She had made an attempt, that was something. "All right then."

Kaitlin pulled her notebook of her bag (she couldn't even remember the last time she had really taken serious notes) as a shadow fell over her desk.

"Hey, Kaitlin." She looked to see two girls standing at her desk. "I'm Isabel and this is Kati."

Kaitlin didn't even have a chance to say something in response to her when they were off talking again.

"Is it true that you killed someone and that's why you're here?"

"Or is it that you got pregnant and had a baby and your mom didn't want the society to look down on you so she shipped you here?"

Kaitlin couldn't help but laugh at these two accusations. She had forgotten how much she had loved hearing rumors about her. Really, nothing gave her a better laugh.

"I actually got caught smoking pot while babysitting my little brother."

"Really? No murder was involved?"

"No," she responded. She was hoping that would get them to leave her alone. Of course it didn't work. They continued talking to her, even though she had stopped paying attention to what they were saying. She was more paying attention to the entrance of another girl in the room.

She was tall, with long, pale blond hair. She was the one who most looked like she was a model and Kaitlin was almost positive that she had seen her in ads before. She walked right over to Blair and she immediately knew this girl was Serena.

She was thankful that the teacher entered the classroom as Isabel and Kati were starting to annoy her, questioning her about everything in her life.

She was pretty sure that this would be the only time she would be thankful to see a teacher.

* * *

Kaitlin threw her food down on the table, not caring who was sitting there. She hadn't even realized that someone else was sitting there until she heard someone clear their throat.

She looked up to see the bald headed girl from earlier staring at her. She wasn't quite sure what she was supposed to do or say to this girl.

"What are you doing?"

"Sitting. Eating. Is that a problem?"

The girl shook her head. She turned back to her notebook that she was writing in, ignoring Kaitlin.

Finally, someone who wasn't completely interested in her whole life story. This was a nice change in pace for the day.

She ate her salad, listening to the buzz around the dining hall. She looked up to see the bald girl looking at her.

"Do you want something?" Kaitlin questioned.

"Just curious as to why you're not sitting with Blair and Serena."

Kaitlin shrugged. "Does it matter who I sit with? I just want a place to eat my salad. Not like it's a matter of life or death."

"Interesting. Usually new girls are vying for their attention, wanting to be best friends with them, considering they're the most powerful seniors in this school."

"I don't really care for that. Like I said, I just want to eat my salad."

"I find it refreshing that someone doesn't want to be best buddies with Blair. After all, she is kind of a bitch."

Kaitlin smiled. "Huh. That's why I don't like her. I'm kind of a bitch too."

The girl didn't reply just turned back to her notebook. Kaitlin liked this quiet girl who didn't seem to like her classmates.

They were going to be great friends.

* * *

"Hey kiddo, how was school today?"

Kaitlin dropped her bag on the ground before sitting on the couch, tucking her legs underneath her. "Boring. The same as it has been since I started."

"You're still keeping up with all of your work, right?"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh yea, Dad, I've been doing my homework every single night."

"You won't be tonight because we have somewhere to go."

"Where?" she questioned, not really interested in the answer. So far, in the past week, every place that her dad had brought her to had consisted of boring business talk or had an attempt at having her bond with Becca. It was getting a little tiring.

"We have a party to go to tonight. It's being thrown by Becca's aunt."

"Oh joy."

"These are nothing like Newport parties."

"Right. Somehow I don't believe you on that one."

"Just wait and see. I promise it won't be anything like those parties. These are a lot better."

"I bought you a dress today," Becca finally spoke up. "It's on your bed. Just be sure you're ready by 7."

Kaitlin took this as a hint for her, which she did, because she was certain the two were going to discuss her once again. It seemed that was all they talked about was her. Not that she minded really, because she did love being the center of attention, but there was a point when it became a little too much.

She walked to her bedroom, where the walls were no longer glaringly pink now that all her posters were hanging up. She looked on the bed where the dress Becca had picked out for her was.

The dress was a royal blue halter, the bottom of it pleated. It was exactly the kind of dress she would have bought had she been the one to pick it out. Great. Now she might actually have to like Becca, considering she had good taste.

* * *

The first thing Kaitlin did when she arrived at the party was laugh. Her father had been completely wrong in saying that these parties weren't like Newport parties. They were, in fact, exactly like Newport parties. She already saw the parents drinking and talking, ignoring anything that didn't really involve themselves. The kids were already sneaking the alcohol and away into the empty bedrooms, trying to make the best of the evening.

She was going to fit in great with this crowd.

"Go ahead and walk around. We have to go do the usual mingling," Jimmy told his daughter before leaving her behind.

She looked around the room, hoping to see Vanessa, her bald headed kind of friend. She didn't spot her anywhere, then remembered that she had mentioned some plans with her friend Dan that night.

That meant that all of the people that she hated where here at the party. She was certain that this was going to turn out to be an eventful evening.

She walked around, stealing some champagne off of the paid to be oblivious waiter's trays. She walked around, looking for someone she could talk to that wouldn't make her want to jump out the window, like the majority of the girls she went to school with did.

Across the room, she spotted Blair, talking to Serena. She was pouting about something and Kaitlin figured that something had gone wrong for the girl. The look on her face definitely showed that this was something she was really upset about, whatever it was.

"Why hello Blair." She walked over to them, deciding that it would be best to give her hostess a greeting.

Blair glared at her, but the polite side of her still won out apparently. "Hello Kaitlin. Having a good evening?"

"The champagne could be better. How's your evening?" She made sure to keep her voice sugary sweet, just because it was kind of amusing to tick this girl off.

"It's great."

"It doesn't seem like it. Really, the red eyes don't show it at all," Kaitlin leaned forward. "And just to let you know, you have mascara running down your face."

Blair's eyes widened and she turned on her heel, obviously going to the nearest bathroom. Kaitlin smirked. The things people would believe.

"She really is a great person, once you get past how she acts," Serena spoke up.

"Somehow I don't completely believe this."

"She is. It's not a good time for her right now though. Her mom just got remarried and is pregnant, plus she's having problems with her ex-boyfriend."

Kaitlin shrugged. "I should care because…?"

Serena sighed. "Just give her a chance."

"Serena!" Blair's voice rang out and they saw her coming towards them. She was bright and smiling as if moments ago she had not been red eyed from crying.

"Is he here?" Serena asked curiously.

"No, not yet. He's going to come though," Blair yanked on Serena's arm, pulling her along with her. "We have to go do something. Bye Kaitlin. Enjoy the party."

Watching them walk away, she knew that Serena had been right about one thing: there was definitely more than meets the eye with some of the people living in the Upper East Side. The way that Serena's eyes had lit up when mentioning Nate, who was apparently the ex-boyfriend of Blair's that she had been talking about. That right there was interesting, considering she knew that Serena had a boyfriend.

There were other things she noticed about not only Serena but Blair and others. She hated to admit that she was curious about the hidden things in their lives. Apparently, she wasn't the only person in Manhattan with a past.

She drained the champagne, placing it down on the nearest table. She found the room suffocating and didn't really want to be there anymore. There was no one there she wanted to talk to, no one who she really wanted to bother with at all.

Hoping that her father wouldn't notice, she left. She didn't even put her coat on beforehand, wanting to get out as fast as possible. She went down the elevator, glad to be free from the party. It was just like at home: her sneaking away, usually to go out with friends. This time was different, she was leaving completely alone.

She walked out of the building, into the cool night air, pulling on her coat. She wasn't paying attention to what she was doing as she tried to shove her arm into the sleeve and ran into someone standing on the sidewalk in front of her.

She was able to regain her balance quickly, straightening up to look at the stranger. It was a boy, who looked to be around her age, with wavy brown hair and green eyes. He was definitely one of the more attractive boys that she had seen so far.

"Oh sorry," he muttered. "Didn't see you."

"That's okay."

He looked at her, and she knew that he was checking her out. It gave her a slight thrill knowing that it was her he was checking out. Sure, she had plenty of guys from Newport doing that, but it wasn't the same really. There was something different about this one.

"I'm Kaitlin Cooper," she stuck her hand out, deciding to take action.

"So you're the new girl everyone's been talking about."

"I do seem to be a popular topic these days."

He smiled at her. "Nate Archibald. Were you just up at the party."

"Yea," she nodded. "It was rather lame. Nothing much to do."

"Huh. I was just about to go up there."

"If you really want to subject yourself to that, then go right ahead," she smirked. "Or, maybe you and I could go out somewhere."

He looked slightly taken aback that she was already asking him to go somewhere after only just introducing themselves, but after a moment, he smiled. He looked up at the building, then back at her.

"I think I've been to enough of these to know how it'll turn out. Let's go."

He grabbed her hand, sending thrills through her body just from his touch. This evening was turning out a lot better than she had thought.

She stepped into the cab he had got for them, still holding onto his hand. He only let go of it when they were inside when he leaned forward to tell the driver where he wanted to go.

"So where are you bringing me?" she questioned.

"Back to my place, if that's all right. My parents are out of town for the weekend."

"That's fine."

The car ride was silent, but it didn't seem to bother either of them. Kaitlin had no clue what she was doing with this boy whose name was the only thing she knew.

She wondered if this was the way Marissa had felt when she met Ryan. If she had felt like trusting him after only knowing him for a short while. She wished she could have her sister still there, to talk to, to ask these questions.

He grabbed her hand once again, helping her out of the car. He let it go sooner this time, shoving his hands into his pockets after he paid the driver. He didn't speak to her as they walked to his door.

She wasn't too shocked by the high class look of his home. She had already known that he was an Upper East Sider, which made it known that he had a lot of money.

"Nice place," she commented, looking at the antique vases and horrid looking paintings. So was the life of an Upper East Side parent apparently: buy the ugliest and most expensive things to put in your home.

He shrugged. "My mom decorated it all."

She followed him around, to the kitchen first. He looked at her, obviously thinking about something.

"I would ask you if you want something, but I'm sure that you already ate something there…"

She grinned at him. He obviously thought she was one of those girls who didn't eat, much like her sister had been. He didn't know that she spent a lot of time with Gordon Bullit, who made it mandatory to enjoy a lot of food--of course, mainly barbeque.

"Actually, I'm starving."

* * *

The next few hours were some of the greatest moments in Kaitlin's seventeen years. She and Nate had spent the time talking. She knew him better than she really knew anyone at this moment. She had told him about her sister, about why she was sent to New York, and all of the things that she had experienced. He had done the same with her.

It was weird. She had never really talked with a boy like this before. Most of the time, she had just slept with the boy or gotten pot from him. Never before had she just talked with one.

It was nice. She was pretty certain that she was really starting to like Nate, despite the short time they had known one another. It might have been the greatest part of being in New York City.

She looked up at him to see him fidgeting with something in his pocket. She had seen him do this a couple of times in the past couple of hours and she wasn't sure what exactly this was all about. She had a bit of an idea but she hadn't questioned him until now.

"What the hell are you doing Nate?"

"Huh?"

"With your pocket. You keep fidgeting with something in it."

He looked at her, a sheepish look in his eyes. "Well…"

He pulled out a plastic bag, confirming her suspicions. He had told her all about his little addiction to marijuana in their talk, after she had shared her story about why she was kicked out of her mother's home.

"I'm sorry. I was trying to stop because I know that you could get in a lot of trouble and all but…"

"Nate, did I mention to you how much I love Marilyn Monroe?"

"No." He looked confused and wasn't sure where this was going exactly.

"Well, Marilyn once said, "If I'd observed all the rules, I'd never have got anywhere."" She smiled at him. "And I definitely have always done this. After all, I've always wanted to be just like Marilyn."

He returned her smile, then pulled the bag completely out of his pocket. Before doing anything else, he leaned forward and kissed Kaitlin.

It was a kiss unlike any other kiss, for her at least. She had kissed plenty of guys, but this one was different. It felt right. She knew what her sister was talking about when she would ramble on for hours about her and Ryan and how right it felt to be with him. It all felt right with the boy she had just met.

She was starting to love being in New York.

* * *

The first thing Kaitlin felt when she woke up was coldness. She pulled the covers up to her chin, trying to bring back the warmth.

Her head started to clear a few minutes later and she remembered the night she had. A smile tugged at her lips as she thought of Nate. She looked over next to her and saw that he wasn't there. She frowned, wondering where he had gone.

She got her answer a moment later, as he walked into the room, wearing only his boxers.

"Hey," she greeted.

"Hi," he mumbled. "Sorry. I was just checking some things out. Your phone was ringing a lot by the way."

She dug around for her purse to search for it. She found it and saw that she had about 20 missed calls, every single one from her dad.

"Shit," she muttered. "I never called my dad."

"Well, you did want to be just like Marilyn," Nate said.

"Way to throw that back in my face." She looked through the text messages that she had gotten. She smirked when she got to one.

"We're on Gossip Girl."

"Huh?"

She handed him the phone so that he could read what had been written about them.

_Looks like we have a new couple in town, Upper East Siders. __**N**__ was seen leaving with __**K **__last night, leaving poor little __**B **__all by her lonesome at her party. Can't wait to see how she's going to react to this new couple. _

Kaitlin looked at him. "You dated Blair?"

Nate nodded, running his hands over the back of his head, messing up his hair. "Yea. For a long time."

"So you're the guy she were waiting for last night."

He nodded, looking slightly guilty.

"Well, this totally changes everything," she commented. "In a good way though. Let's just say I have one up on Blair now." She leaned over and kissed him. "And I would love to stay, but unfortunately, if I ever want to leave my house again, I should leave. Call me."

And with that she left him behind. They would be back to one another though. She was pretty sure that they weren't going to be able to stay away.

* * *

Kaitlin was bored out of her mind. It had been two weeks since she had been in school and she found it just as boring as it had been back at Harbor. For the first three days, she had actually made an attempt at school. Then she realized it sucked and was boring and was back to her old ways.

Because really, how was homework on the functions ever going to help her out in her life?

Especially now that she had Nate. He had called her the other night, on the sly, considering she was in major trouble for never calling her dad. She had managed a good lie saying that she was with Vanessa. She was pretty thankful her dad was oblivious and hadn't realized what she was doing. She was thinking about him a lot though and it was really rather difficult to concentrate on school work when she was thinking of their night together.

She mostly spent any free time she had in the library, using the computers to do puzzles. It beat homework.

Just as she completed another puzzle, she heard a throat clearing behind her. She swiveled her chair around to see a stout woman with a bad hairstyle and clothes that should have never been made.

"Can I help you," she squinted at the woman's nametag, which read Barb Wilson, "Barb?"

"It's Ms. Wilson and you're not allowed to do anything but school work on the computers. Don't you have something academic to do?"

"Well, Barb, I don't really like to do my homework. So, I guess that answer would be a no." She looked at the woman once again. "And really, those clothes should never be worn, they look horrible on their own. On you, well…let's just say you don't do them any justice."

She glared at her. Kaitlin just flashed her a smile before grabbing her bag and leaving the library.

Vanessa, who was sitting a few computers over working on ideas for a film, smiled at Kaitlin's antics. No one had ever said anything like that to Barb Wilson and she was pretty sure the woman was going to be in shock for at least the next few classes. This girl had definitely caused a stir in Constance Billard, going places that the other girls definitely weren't willing to go. Vanessa found it really amusing.

Plus, she was certain it would be a great idea for a film.

Kaitlin was walking through the halls, vaguely aware of the bell ringing in the distance. She didn't really care too much about getting to her class on time, let alone at all. So she just continued walking until she had reached the door, pushing it open to her freedom.

She was shocked to see someone sitting on the front steps at all, let alone a boy. From behind, she could see his wavy brown hair and that he was wearing a uniform. She knew exactly who it was.

She walked forward, tapping him on the shoulder. She was standing right behind the boy when she saw the joint in his hand, which didn't surprise her at all. She smirked at him, though he couldn't see her.

"So why are you sitting on the steps of an all girl's school? Unless, you know you're thinking of applying."

Nate looked up at her, a slightly dazed look in his eyes. He shook his head, looking like he was trying to clear his mind, seeming to regain some of his composure.

"Nah, you know, I tried that before. Something about me not fitting the criteria. Don't really know what that's about."

"Yea. That seems a little weird to me too."

She sat down next to him on the stairs, throwing her bag down on the ground. She was smiling widely now. "So, why are you here?"

"Just came to see a girl."

"A girl huh?" She leaned in and kissed him. She pulled away looking at him. "So you think that you want to sh-"

"Kaitlin Elizabeth Cooper!"

She lifted her head up, pulling her hand away from the joint, which Nate had been handing to her. She was surprised to see her father storming towards her. Nate hurriedly threw the joint on the ground and she stood up smoothing her skirt down.

"Dad what are you doing here?"

"I got a call from your headmistress Kaitlin. You've been in this school for two weeks and you're already having meetings?"

"Sorry," she mumbled, not feeling a bit of remorse. Maybe this would be her opportunity to go back, to find her place back home.

He looked at Nate, shaking his head. He wished his daughter would make better choices in friends.

"Come on."

She followed her dad inside, leaving the two things that she really wanted behind. As soon as the door slammed shut behind them, her dad turned to look at her.

"You're coming to the meeting with me."

She continued following her dad, not saying a word. They were both silent until they got to the office, where they were called immediately into the headmistress's office.

"Kaitlin, Mr. Cooper. Please sit down." She stood up behind the desk, staring Kaitlin down. "I'm sure you both know why I called you here. Kaitlin, you've missed already more classes than most girls miss in all their time here and you've only been here for two weeks."

She shrugged. "Whoops?"

"Normally, with this much time missed, I would have to dismiss you from the school. We believe in second chances here at Constance Billard and we like to think these second chances turn people around. If there are anymore slip ups after this Kaitlin, you will be asked to leave the school."

"All right. Sounds fine to me."

"We know you have a lot of potential Kaitlin. We can tell from some of your test scores that you're a brilliant young lady."

"She is," Jimmy cut in, "just like her older sister, Marissa, was."

"Well, we would like to see this potential. We're certain that you can turn your grades around in a matter of days and be suitable for college. It will take a lot of work, but we all know you can do it. This is why we've taken the liberty of having one of our students peer tutor you for the rest of the school year. She will also be making sure you fit in here at Constance and will help you make all of the right choices."

"So, I basically have a babysitter?"

"Kaitlin," Jimmy said, his voice low. He didn't want her to piss off the headmistress even more. They had pulled a lot of strings to get her in there.

"Blair, will you come in here?"

Kaitlin resisted groaning. This was ridiculous. Blair and her hadn't gotten along any better than they had two weeks ago. Considering Kaitlin had taken Nate away from her, she was almost certain that was going to get worse. It had been nearly a week, but she and Blair didn't talk at all, but her glares across the halls and classrooms certainly said a lot. And now she was going to be her babysitter?

"Blair, this is the girl you will be helping out. Blair is one of our most involved seniors. She should make a great friend to Kaitlin."

"Gee, thanks, but--"

"Thank you very much, Blair. We really appreciate you doing this."

"Of course. I'm always willing to help those in need." Blair flashed a smile.

"Well, thank you. You may all go now."

The three walked out of the office, Blair sticking closely to Kaitlin's side. Jimmy turned to her as soon as they were far enough away from the office.

"Blair, do you think I could talk to Kaitlin for a few minutes?"

"Of course," she flashed him another smile, "I'll be right over there."

She walked away, leaving the two alone. Kaitlin looked at her father, seeing him angrier than she could ever remember.

"Listen Kaitlin, I know this move was difficult for you but you have to try. I did a lot to get you in here. I don't understand why you can't just try. I know this is weird moving in with me all of a sudden, but really, make an attempt. Why can't you be more like your sister was?"

These were the words she hated hearing, the words that she was often told. "I'm not Marissa dad. I never have been and I never will be. All right? I don't understand why no one seems to understand that I'm not the freakin golden child that you all believe her to be. I get it, you guys idolized her. I get that I never lived up to those expectations, which is evident by you guys shipping me off to boarding school so you wouldn't have to deal with me."

"That wasn't why we did it. Things were so messed up at our house. Marissa was even having problems with it all, but she dealt with it. She's always been able to deal with it." He rubbed his hands across his face. "We need to make a few new rules I think. First of all, I saw what you were about to do with that boy out there. I don't want you to do that again. Marissa never did anything like that, and I really don't want you to start again."

"Marissa never did stuff like that? How about when she overdosed in Tijuana or when she was doing coke with her bad ass boyfriend? Marissa wasn't perfect and I'm not either. You're just going to have to deal with that."

She walked over to Blair, where she was obviously listening to their conversation, trying to make it not obvious. She continued walking past, Blair catching up to her quickly.

"Listen," she grabbed Kaitlin's arm, "there's a few things you need to know."

"What?"

"This is my school, this is my home. You can't just waltz in here, expecting everything to change and you to be the queen bitch. That's my job and it's going to stay like that until I leave."

"I don't want to change anything."

"Everyone idolizes you already. It shouldn't be like that. Stay away from my friends and my boyfriend."

"Nate? Nate's not your boyfriend."

"He was just using you the other night," she hissed. "He was nervous about coming to the party to see me."

"Aw, Blair, can you not accept reality or something? He's moved on."

Blair looked like she was ready to throw a fit. "He's going to come back to me."

Kaitlin just shook her head and started walking away from Blair. She didn't want to deal with this at the moment.

"Where are you going?" Blair called after her.

"Leaving."

"You can't leave school. I'll get in trouble for letting you leave!" Kaitlin could hear the panic in her voice. This just made her walk faster.

"Well, I've always wanted to be just like Marilyn."

She walked out of the building, meeting Nate on the front steps. She heard the door open behind her and knew Blair was following her. She walked over to Nate, kissing him just like their first kiss.

She grabbed his hand and started walking away with him, giving Blair one last glance. She looked pissed off and confused, like she didn't know what to do with herself. Kaitlin had to admit that she was feeling a bit of triumph at this. Maybe she should have felt remorse or guilt over 'taking over' Blair's life, but she didn't.

After all, Blair had told her that only one bitch could come out on the top. And when it came to being a bitch, Kaitlin Cooper was always number one.


End file.
